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by missmagic



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Earth baby, Galaxy Garrison, Rating May Change, Warnings May Change, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-29
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-09-20 16:55:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9500909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missmagic/pseuds/missmagic
Summary: Aliens are common knowledge now.  Every Human being alive had seen the videos.  The ones that showed an alien robot Lion flying around not far away from a Garrison campus, only for it to leave the atmosphere.  The ones that caught an alien spacecraft coming near the planet before chasing the lion who knows where to.Humanity feels threatened.Humanity has alien technology in their grasp.What's the worst that could happen?





	1. An Offer

**Author's Note:**

> I was really annoyed with the lack of Earth worldbuilding in the show and decided to fix that. Here's a link to a rant that I had on tumblr about Earth and the Galaxy Garrison. http://bisexualswagbootyloverpunk.tumblr.com/post/156494190874/im-thinking-of-writing-a-fic-entirely-set-on
> 
> Btw, in this I call Hunk Hemana cause I hc that Hunk is a nickname given to him by Lance. Hemana is his birthname.

Tic-Toc.  The sound of the clock felt far away even though the analog was on the wall right beside him.  A useless place to put it because it wasn't as if he could see it from his chair however, it wasn't really there for him to see.  He could use the digital clock on his computer a lot easier, the old thing was really just for listening to.  An odd thing to keep it for.  For as long as he could remember the tic toc of old fashioned clocks always gave him a sense of calm, as if each tic was a signal to breath in and every toc to breath out.  Very odd.  The sound would be calming in this instant if it wasn't for the empty feeling in his chest.  Numb and unfeeling.  Only the whisky that he hid in a secret compartment in his desk for nights like these seemed to help him feel.  The burning before that too was numbed until the next sip. 

He shouldn't be drinking if he was honest.  His liver had been acting up for the past year and he also had tests to grade.  A deep sigh escaped his lips as he leaned back and sank further into his chair.  His eye gazed at the tests that sat on his desk.  He couldn't be arsed.  Not when the guilt was eating up at him again, well, more than usual anyway.  If it's one thing Miles always disliked doing, it was lying.  It was something that could be useful if done correctly, done wrong and you could end up in shit-vile.  The Commander especially hated the lies that the Board had told him to croak.   

The Board had taken the risk of lying, keeping it all under wraps and out of the public eye.  Too bad that it went wrong and they were now in shit-vile.  Hounded by the media and just by the public in general.  They made sure to drag him down with them.  Now thanks to them, the esteemed reputation of the Galaxy Garrison was soiled. 

It was always the same questions he was greeted with.  _"Sir.  How long has the Garrison known this information?"_  

 _"Commander Iverson, what really happened with the Kerberos mission?"_  

 _"Is it true that it was due to pilot error?"_  

 _"Excuse me but many are saying that the recorded video of the_ _blue lion was fake.  Can you confirm or deny that a robot lion was spotted flying from Earth?"_  

 _"Is it true that scanners picked up five humans inside the Lion?  Three being cadets of the Garrison and two being_ _ex-cadets, one of which_ _supposedly died on the Kerberos mission."_  

 _"Sir, can you please tell us what happened to Lance McClain, Katie Holt,_ _Hemana_ _Garrett, Takashi_ _Shirogane_ _and Keith_ _Kogane_ _?"_  

 _"If Corporal_ _Shirogane_ _survived Kerberos, is there a chance that Dr_ _Samuel_ _and Matthew Holt also survived?"_  

How does one tell the world that what you told them the year before was a lie.  It was a shock to his system.  He remembers it clearly, waking up at 4am to his phone going off and his comm. going mental as well.  The Board screaming at him about information leaks.  He wasn't surprised if he was 100% honest.  He knew that one day everyone would find out.  Miles actually thought that the ruse was up when he walk in on that Katie using his computer.  She knew the truth, that something else had went down on Pluto's moon and that they were hiding it.  They just didn't know what.  Still to this day, they don't know what really happened on Kerberos.

How does one explain to the world that the crew of the three year mission had just... vanished.  The ship was still there and outside cameras were still recording.  The video showed the three going out on the rover to their site, a few hours later, they record screaming and a flash of bright brilliant purple.  That's it.  That's all they got back from Kerberos.  It definitely wasn't pilot error.  Not that it wouldn't have been. 

Takashi Shirogane.  He'd known the boy when he joined that Garrison at fourteen.  A bright young lad.  A good kid...  He had the pleasure of training him.  Back before he got promoted and was still just an instructor.  Iverson helped train Takashi, he knew first hand how good of a pilot that boy was.  Graduating as the youngest first class pilot at only nineteen, beating the record of twenty-two set almost 40 years ago.  On record, he died age twenty-three.  He knew that boy and he knew for a fact that if anything killed the Kerberos crew, it wasn't pilot error.  Yet that was the lie that the Board had him and the others say. 

Imagine telling a family that.  He remembers travelling to Tokyo himself and knocking on the Shirogane family home.  It was his elder sister than answered the door.  Six years older than him yet you'd think that they were twins.  She recognised his uniform and already he could see her face tighten and a slither of fear sink into her eyes.  A personal visit meant only bad news.  He was invited in, mother and daughter sat on the couch in front of him.  His father had died in an accident when he was seven.  Looks like another family member claimed by accident.  If he thought the sister looked like Takashi, then his mother gave her a run for her money.  You could easily tell which parent he took after. 

It's a horrible thing to tell a family their loss.  He remembers how the sisters eyes turned blank as she stared into the abyss, her face emotionless.  The mother on the other hand.  She seemed to go through the five stages of grief in seconds.   

He remembers her screams.  Telling him that he was lying.  That her baby boy was safe and still helping to take ice samples.  

Then her eyes were alight with rage.  Hell has no fury to a mother whose child is threatened.   

It went on and on until she was on the ground.  Cries that would forever haunt Iverson came from both women who'd lost a loved one.  He'd never forget how she cried _"No._ _No..not_ _my boy.  Not my boy_ _"_ when he told her it was to pilot error.  Both women knew that wasn't true. 

Back at the Garrison, they had an assembly.  Telling the cadets and instructors what had happened.  Lance Corporal Jamie Hughes.  An instructor that same age as Shirogane.  In fact, the two were best friends during their time as cadets, and continued to be into adulthood.  ...Had been best friends.  The shenanigans those two got up to.  Imagine finding out your best friends had died in space.  He remembers the exclamation of _"_ _Shiro_ _man... shit"_ as the brunet clumsily fell into a chair, slumped over and held his face in his hands.  Iverson pretended not to hear the sobs that came from the man.  Everyone who knew Shiro all had the look of _bullshit_ when they were told that it was to pilot error.

He doesn't know how Colleen Holt took the news.  He knows first hand her daughters opinion on it, but not hers.  Peter was the one tasked with telling the Holts but apparently they had already heard before he could get to them.  Iverson did know how she took the news about her daughter though.  Colleen stormed upon the campus.  The woman looked like the living embodiment of rage.  Her hair had grown out a bit since Kerberos, just touching her shoulders and the stands stood up.  She looked like a roaring lion as she screamed at him and the other officers. 

It always, without a doubt, eat him alive at night. 

The chime from his computer startled him.  He looked over to see that the he just had more tests to grade.  A groan left his mouth.  He'd forgotten that he also had to mark the tests from the Garrison Campus in New Glasgow.  Treacherously, his mind started to think about how the kids would be there right now.   

Galaxy Garrison had two Campuses.  One in America which was for junior cadets.  Those who became senior cadets or showed immense promise went to New Glasgow.  He didn’t like to think about how they would be there.  Lance McClain and Hemana Garrett, or Hunk as he heard most cadets call him, would now both be old enough to go there.  Even Pidge Gunderson, Katie Holt, would have been accepted there, though not old enough, they had the promise that New Glasgow would make an exception for.  They're families would have been proud.  Their families wouldn't be feeling their loss right now. 

If you had told Miles Iverson that one day, he'd witness a giant, blue robot lion erupt from the ground and start flying about the place only to shoot up into space, to find out that four children were on that thing as well as the man they called dead.  He would have probably hut you.  He didn't really understand what was going on when he watched the lion.  He was still to caught up in Takashi's return to be honest.  Nobody expected him to be in a, ship of sort. 

The security feeds were... upsetting.  Last time he saw Takashi, he was calm.  He had a bright smile that reached his eyes.  His skin was tanned and his hair solid black.  He was intact.  The Takashi in the video however.  He was strapped down to the table.  The doctor around him wore suits just in case of anything that he brought with him.  The man, was in panic.  His eyes were wide, his voice laced with fear of what was coming.  He was frantic.  The Commander thought that he could see the start of worry lines on his forehead.  His skin was pale, making the deep, wide scar that sat across his nose more noticeable.  He looked far older than just twenty-four.  His hair now had white growing in it.  He's lost an arm and gained a new one.  That shook Iverson.   

He never doubted that there were things living outside the solar system.  He just didn't expect to have evidence of them in his lifetime.  Here though, an alien prosthetic stared at him in the face.  The alien ship that he'd returned home in.  Then the lion.  It wasn't Human.  Finally, the cherry on top was the Alien spacecraft that was spotted chasing the lion.  Satellite helped them watch the chase until the edge of the solar system where they were lost to them.  It was unnerving.  It was terrifying. 

Then all hell broke loose when the public found out.   

A cadet had been standing at their open window when the lion showed up.  They didn’t just stand there like himself however, nope, they took out their phone and recorded the whole thing.  Then, what did they do?  They uploaded it on to the internet.  That’s when it all came in.  All of the other recordings that people had taken.  Some were cadets from here, others were taking from the Moon, the Moon videos had more content in them.  One video, the guy had already been filming something when he caught the Alien Ship appear in front of Earth.  Catching the lion wiz past it and off it went only for the ship to give chase.  After really close watching, you could even say the lion fought the ship.  It was mayhem.  People from all over were charging to NASA and the Garrison, demanding answers.   

Then the scanner readings which showed Human signatures inside the lion were handed to the media.   

Then, the security videos of Takashi in the tent were leaked. 

The next day, he got an email from both Kimi and Hoshi Shirogane.  _Where is he._ Gone again. 

What does one do when the world calls for answers that you don't have. 

Now Earth knows about what **could** be out there, they won't say what **is** out there because anything could be.  Everyone was scared.  All countries, colonies, every person was terrified.  How long had that lion been there.  What if it was a threat.  That ship, that appeared from nowhere and was gone just as quick.  Look how easy it got to us.  Look how vulnerable we were.  Humanity was scared and that’s not a good thing.  At first, there was complete panic, some places had even escalated into riots.   

Scientists and Engineers from all over collected together to study the ship that Takashi had came in, they sank their teeth into it without prompt as well as half of a robot that was also in there.  They spoke about amazing things.  About how advanced this technology was and how they'd never seen anything like it.  They were stumped at what was powering the machinery, they could tell that it was energy but not any energy that they'd ever found before.  It was amazing.  It was a breath of fresh air.  They loved it and gladly ripped it apart.  It was surprising how quickly they reversed engineered.  Amazing in its own right.  Replaced the unwanted parts of Human tech with the better parts of this.  They took everything from what they had.   

The people started to calm when they realised how much faster our ships had become.  How much stronger the materials that had been found were and that they could easily be synthesised.  Our weapons now had more impact.  Earth was more protected.  Whatever the energy was, it was outstanding.  It was actually Mrs Holt who'd discovered the energy on Earth.  Nobody knows how she did it, Colleen simply told everyone how to get it and that was it.  They had a name for it now, _Aura_.  Everything was changing.  Technological advancements that couldn't even have had been dreamed of became reality.   

Its been two years.  Two years since the lion incident.  Three years since the Kerberos. 

He should probably get to marking those test papers. 

 

—  

 

It was a few days later that he got a call.  Iverson was in the mess hall when  Lt. Murray walked in.  "Commander, there's a comm. for you.  They've been put on hold in your office Sir."  He was surprised, not expecting anything from anyone.  He nodded to those who were sitting beside him and walked out the door, passing the Lt. 

"Thank you Lt."  The walk to his office felt longer than usual.  As he sat down in his chair, he could see the red light flashing on the comm. that showed someone was on hold.  Breathing in and out he turned it on.  His comm. was linked to his computer so it was able to use the camera on that for this.  A blue screen appeared in front of him.  The face of Dr Paula greeted him.  Her dark eyes matched her skin and hair.  She was a living symbol of professionalism.  "Elizabeth.  What can I do for you?"  A small smile cracked her cold exterior.  

"Hey Miles.  Would you like to be in a project of mine?"  Her Spanish accent seemed to amplify the play in her voice, the smile grew larger.  It'd been a long time since they'd really done anything together.  Iverson had two eyes back then.  A twinkle danced in her eyes as she noticed the taken back expression on his face. 

"What kind of project?" 

"Eh, just a new kind of ship that me and a friend thought up.  We've already made most of it right enough but I'd like to hear what a pilot has to say about it so... you want in?"  Iverson was silent.  There were other pilots that she could ask, some more qualified, right enough, who'd pass this opportunity. 

"Yeah, I want in." 

"Excellent."  The grin on her face should have unsettled him but he was use to her by now.  "I'll add you to the list.  There's a meeting for this next week being held in the New Glasgow east square.  I'll send you the tickets and the times for the thing." 

"Right then, guess I'll see you in New Glasgow then." 

"See you in New Glasgow."  That was that.  His old friend ended the call and he relaxed into his seat, letting out a sigh.  He didn't know anyone that'd pass up a chance to go to NG.  It wasn't as if the city was off limits to those without clearance, it was the capital of Earth's first colony.  If you could call the Moon a colony.  Iverson remembers picking up an old book once, a romance novel from 2038.  The confusion that he felt when it started taking about a white satellite in the night sky with an eerie glow.  What could that be, he only got more confused when they called it the Moon.  His young mind didn't understand, the Moon didn't look like that at all.  It wasn't until much later that he for out that it was in 2082 when Humanity started to terraform it.  The terraforming was a slow process but it was done.  It was interesting to look at before and after pictures.  Now instead of looking white and pale grey, the Moon looked like a miniature Earth.  You could see Charmed Bay sometimes, the Moon's sea noticeable in the top left when you looked up at the sky.  Green sprinkled all about where there wasn't city.   

In a sense, the Moon had been renamed New Glasgow.  It was mostly city anyway, it started in the near side of the Moon and through the years, quickly spread as the population grew, ending on the far side.  Apparently, he'd never seen it personally, but apparently there was a great forest on the far side.  Full of nearly every kind of plant and tree you could find on Earth.  NG was a jewel in human history.  Though, there was talk of the Trips settlement on Venus taking that spot in the next couple of centuries. 

Shaking his head, he realised that if he has to go to NG next week, then be better get these fucking tests marked.


	2. Mama

Even though the glass was thick enough to act as a buffer the same way as an atmosphere, the Sun light was still too intense for her eyes.  Brilliant white coating the Earth bellow her in light, she swore that she could still see reflections from the shinny buildings from way up here.  They'd just left the Airport and already they were close to NG.  Nowadays, a trip like this was practically instant, it wasn't really a trip, she remembers when it would at least take a few hours.  It also cost an arm and a leg back then.  Times had changed. 

A ding rang throughout the craft.  "We'll be docking in a minute, welcome to New Glasgow."  There was a moment where she could only hear moving machinery before she felt a tiny shudder from the landing.  Another ding sounded, signalling that it was time to get off.  She was thankful that she was able to get a private ship ride up, not only did she not have to deal being cramped into tight space but she didn't have to wait for her luggage.  Not that she had much to bring with her, she already had a house in the city with a lot of her stuff already there.  Still, it took longer than she liked to get through NG Airport.  Taking in a breath of fresh air as she left the building. 

"Dr Holt!"  Colleen whipped her head in the direction she heard her name.  She was greeted with a young man holding a padd with her name on it.  Long black hair was pulled back into a bun on his head, a few strands falling in front of his face.  She couldn't tell what colour his eyes were from the distance but he had a kind smile on his face.  The woman made her way over to him, wondering who he was.  She didn't have to wait long to find out.  "Hey, I'm Cale Chilton.  I'm Dr Paula's assistant, I'm here to take you to the Hanger."  It was snappish and definite in the way he spoke but she could tell that he didn't mean it in that way from the innocence in his smile and genuine sparkle in his green eyes.  "You probably hear this a lot but I'm really honoured to meet you I've read all about your work and I'm a really big fan.  I've read all of your reports on _Aura_ and how beneficial of a power source it could be in the future..."  Colleen couldn't help but chuckle at his enthusiasm, listening to him ramble on and on, it was good background noise.  She liked looking out the window as Cale drove her to the Hanger.  Watching the buildings pass by, giant skyscrapers each one more impressive than the next.  Elegant structures which curved and bended and just screamed Modern design, very different from the old buildings on Earth.  Restaurants and pubs all past by as well.  She was so far into her own little world that she didn't notice how much time had passed as the car stopped and parked the car in front of the Hanger. 

For being called the Hanger, there were a lot of single hangers littered about the place.  She could only guess that it was called that for the humungous hanger that made the others pale in comparison.  Either that or Elizabeth was just really lazy with coming up with a name.  Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Cale speaking into the comm. which sat on his wrist like a bracelet.  

This wasn't her first time working with the Spaniard.  Elizabeth Paula was an impressive woman, creator and CEO of Stardust Industries, one of the best.  However, the last times they had worked together, she was needed for the technical side of the project.  This time though, she was needed for her knowledge of _Aura_ and how it works.  Surprising since Elizabeth had made no direction into using it before.  The woman believed in clean and green ways of energy, not that Humanity used fuels which caused heavy pollution really anymore but the CEO specialised in Space travel.  Which sadly, is a fuel demanding thing and sometimes, the clean and green way just isn't enough.  It was more than enough to go between Earth and NG but it just scraped by when going between Earth and Venus.  The ships that did that journey always had a nearly bone dry power level, severely needing to refuel before heading back for Earth.  Solar panels on ships helped but honestly, those were what was stopping those ships from running out of fuel ¾'s of the way there.  There was still a lot that they didn't know about _Aura_ and that's why Elizabeth didn’t want to use it, she didn’t know the harm it could cause. 

So when she reached out to her asking to help her with a project involving _Aura_ she was surprised.  A part of her was excited to see what was going on, a stark difference from her usual empty feeling. 

"Colleen!"  The older woman returned the hug.  She could feel Elizabeth's black hair tickling her nose.  "It's been so long."  Colleen could see the similarities between Beth and her assistant.  Both were energetic talkers and rambled on.  It stung a little when she noticed similarities between them and three people that use to do the same thing... 

"So, can I ask what I'm here for."   

"Mhh, oh yes.  We'll talk all about the details when we get to my office."  She wouldn't lie, she was a bit disappointed that they didn't go into the biggest hanger, instead, they walked to the 3rd biggest out of five.  A worker opening the door for them and smiling politely.  Inside was completely different from the calm of outside.  Everyone was buzzing around at top speed, all dedicated to their work, the noise of hundreds of people speaking, the rumble of machinery and the banging of tools all washed over her.  There was so much going on that she didn't know where to look.  Grateful for the arm that Beth had linked with hers, without it, she is sure that she would have been too distracted from everything around her to follow.  Sparks caught her eyes and she tried to see what they were building, sadly the place was too cluttered and everything was hiding it from view but she could tell that it was big.  "Here we are.  Home sweet home" rang out in a sing song voice.   

There was a bit of ruckus as the two got comfortable before they continued.  "So, what have you dragged me out here for?  What're you making now?"  She watched the smile grow on Beth's face, obviously pleased with herself. 

"I'm making a ship."  Colleen raised an eyebrow. 

"A ship." 

"A ship." 

"Just... a ship?" 

"A brand new kind of ship."  Beth's face reminded her of the cat from that old classical tale, Alice... something, she couldn't remember the name.  The glint in her eyes told a lot. 

"What does _Aura_ have to do with this, brand new ship?" 

"A lot."  Colleen was getting tired of Beth's short and vague answers, she didn't have the patience she use to. 

"I thought you wanted nothing to do with it."  It wasn't a question. 

"I didn't, but I got curious..." 

"God help us." 

"...and so, I asked a team to do something for me.  You know them, Asha's team." 

"The one from Europe a few years ago?"  Where did they come into this?  She hadn't seen them in a while and wondered how they were all doing. 

"Yeah them.  Well, I asked them to run some tests on _Aura_ for me and trust me, they ran every test imaginable." 

"Really?  I can imagine quite a lot of tests." 

"Now you're just being a bitch."  The playful japs between them were refreshing.  If there was one thing she liked about Beth, it was how casual you could be with her.  She couldn't help but smile. 

"Right, I'm sorry.  Please continue." 

"Okay... where was I...?"  There was a moment of silence, easy to see that the Spaniard was racking her brain for her last train of thought.  "Ah, right, so.  They did what I asked and they found nothing."  Colleen didn’t understand where she was going with this. 

"Nothing of what...?" 

"Anything really.  It's just pure energy, no sign of pollution or anything hazardous to us came up.  So at least we can now add _Aura_ on to the list of clean safe energy sources." 

"So that's why your suddenly interested in it." 

"I've always been interested in it, I've just not trusted it until now."  It was a good enough reason.  She couldn't say anything about anyone who didn't put their trust in an alien power source.  "The future stops for no one.  Technology stops for no one.  We won't always use what we're using now to get around, even if that pod hadn't crashed here or if you hadn't discovered how it works, we still would have found an alternative but...  It would be slow.  Slow compared to how quickly we are able to use _Aura_.  You found that out yourself, it's everywhere and it's renewable.  After a while it... grows back."  No one really knew how to describe the renewable properties of it.  At first everyone feared that it'd be like oil or coal, it'd run out and that would spell trouble.  Then they discovered that it simply restored itself.  "It's a good source, think about it.  You were there during the tests.  You saw how a tiny bit of it powered almost an entire fleet.  _Aura_ could make a trip to Venus not only easier on the power level and less wasteful but also quicker.  That's why I need you.  To help integrate _Aura_ into the ship design."  She said is with so much passion, how could Colleen deny her.  "And with it, who knows.  We could soon be traveling outside our solar system just as easily as if it was from Earth to here."  Elizabeth knew that it was a low blow but what better way to get Colleen on her side than tempt her with who see could find out there.  She didn't say who they could find but Colleen got the hint. 

"Sure... yeah."  Beth was silent as she gave her a quick nod. 

"Excellent.  This is why I wanted you out here before everyone else arrived.  So that you could over the design and see how you could get the _Aura_ to work."  She could only nod back at her, suddenly finding it hard to speak. 

"What other sources of power will you have?"  She seemed taken back, as if she never thought of that. 

"Wouldn't _Aura_ just be enough?" 

"Yeah but it'd be better to have multiple power sources to keep reserve."  She suddenly felt tired.  "Why not keep the old power system but have that for domestic use.  Like, electricity, cooking, heating, lighting, and just keep the _Aura_ simply for the engines.  Just so that we're not using too much of it up too quickly.  Keep the solar panels as well."  The humming of approval came from Beth's throat.  Her eyebrows doing an amusing dance along to her thoughts. 

"We could easily do that."  They locked eyes, an agreement settling between them.  "I'll have the plans sent to your apartment here."  It felt like the moment to say goodbye and leave but Colleen was still curious. 

"Who else is on the list?"  She puffed out her chest and leaned back, feeling the relief in her back is it cracked.  "For the meeting I mean?"  Beth made the mouth movement of 'ah' and looked about her desk.  Pushing things out the way before handing a padd over to her. 

"This is the list of names for the meeting.  Not as many people as there usually is but I was very picky this time."  Confusion stirred in her but she didn't question it.  Too concentrated on the names. 

_Alan Maxwell_  

_April Mill_ _s_  

_Julia Powers_  

_Ian Millar_  

_Brooke Myers_  

_Asha Cortez_  

_Rachel Flores_  

_Martin Lee_  

_Scott Davis_  

_…_  

The list went on but her eyes were glued to a specific two. 

_Miles Iverson_  

That name stirred nothing but anger in her.  Any name of a Garrison Officer who was in on the Kerberos secret made her feel nothing but rage.  At him mostly though.  Not only did he lie about Kerberos, but he was also going to lie about the lion.  Looking at the second name however, it brought up a very different emotion. 

_Hoshi_ _Shirogane_  

That name.  The last name made her feel nothing but haunted.  She didn't blame the Shirogane boy.  She couldn't bring herself to.  Colleen could hear her family do that for her anyway.  Her mother was the worst for it.  She couldn't go a second without cursing that boy for his stupidity and for splitting up the family, even after they found out it wasn't pilot error, the grudge had already set in too deep.  Colleen on the other hand, she just couldn't.  Sam and Matt had invited him over to dinner once before the mission.  From how they described him she expected a mouse of a boy but was she surprised.  Surprised of the giant of a man who greeted her.  Taller than anyone in her family with limbs thicker than them too but...  She could never hold a grudge against the kind smile and how gentle his eyes were.  He was too nice of a person to hate on that level.  Finding out it wasn't pilot error made her glad that she couldn't. 

She didn't understand why they were on the list however.   

"Why is Hoshi Shirogane on here?"  The CEO was confused with her question.  She hadn’t connected the dots. 

"Hoshi Shirogane?  She's a very talented pilot.  So's her daughter right enough but Hoshi has greater experience and I'd like the impute of actual pilots cause well, they're the ones who are gonna be flying the thing."  She still hadn't connected the dots as to why Colleen was asking but she was getting there.  After a moment it seemed to dawn on her when she remembered the connection between the Shiroganes and the Holts.  "...Oh..."   

All Colleen got from that was that both mother and daughter were pilots, just like son and brother.  She seemed to remember the dinner, someone asked him why he wanted to be a pilot in the first place and he said something along the lines of 'family tradition'. 

"I... I hope this won't be awkward for you..." 

"Not at all, we're both on the same boat."  Beth swallowed hard and couldn't look her in the eye.  The silence that reigned was oppressive and Colleen couldn't deal with it any longer.  "I'll see you at the meeting Beth, bye." 

"...Bye." 

 

—  

 

She soon found out that her apartment was further away from the Hanger than she thought.  Didn't matter though, it was a good time to clear her mind, didn't work but at least she tried.  The ship designs were on her computer, the files opened right now.  At first look she could tell that Elizabeth designed how it looked, it had her signature flare to it.  It was an interesting design she'd give the younger woman that. 

However, she couldn't get her thoughts away from Hoshi Shirogane.  Last time they saw each other was at the public funeral of the Kerberos crew three years ago.  Not the best place for first meetings.  They didn't talk, her daughter Kimi did, she came over and offered her condolences.  Hoshi however, was a statue.  Kimi and Shiro had looked like twins but he was practically a carbon copy of Hoshi.  Same towering height.  Same hair colour.  Same eyes.  Same face.  They even shared the body shape.  At some point, she wondered if Hoshi was just very masculine looking or if Shiro was just very feminine.   

Colleen didn't take offence to her silence.  She understood.  She too was a grieving mother.  Yes she lost more but at least her child wasn't being blamed for killing themselves and two other people. 

That day, Hoshi was everything you'd expect from an officer.  Her uniform was crisp.  Her posture was perfect, her shoulders back and chin up but there was a stiffness to it.  The woman oozed control and calm but you could see it in her eyes, she was broken.  Too proud to let others see her break down here, even for her son.  Not here anyway, maybe in the comfort of her home, but not here.  Colleen understood.  That was the last and only time she saw the Shirogane matriarch but not for long it seemed.   

She wondered if she would be better or worse now.  Would her posture be as perfect.  Would she be as controlled as she was.  Now was different from then.  Back then there wasn't the videos.  At first she didn't want to watch them, she didn't want to confirm that he returned but her family didn't, in fact, she lost one more when she thought she couldn't but she couldn't stop herself.  Curiosity killed the cat they say.  She knows the Shiroganes would have seen them, why wouldn't they watch what confirms their family members survival.  Horror and fear is all she felt when she watched them.  Who was that man?  Who looked too old to be just twenty-four.  Who looked too panicked and terrified to be the calm and loving boy they knew.  Who had no arm when there was one before.  Who had a traumatic scar across his nose, which she could imagine in all horrifying ways he got.  Who screamed in fear and about something coming, pleas which fell upon deaf ears.  If the video shook her so much, she could only imagine what it was like for his family to watch. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please remember to comment and share your thoughts on this with me. Your comments are what inspire me to write more so if you'd like more chapters then, please comment and give suggestions. If you also have any questions, please feel free to ask!


	3. Sparrow

He wouldn't lie, he wished that he was back in his apartment. Miles groaned as his back cracked in several places, he hadn't slept well that night and liked the idea of going back to bed. Sadly though, he had places to be that day. Heartbreaking. Elizabeth's meeting should be starting any minute now. Chatter filled the room from all sides, a lot of the people Miles had never seen before, well, except for one. He tried not to look at Mrs. Holt, however that didn't stop her from glaring at him from across the room. Miles knew that the woman would never forgive him or the Garrison. Her eyes seemed to burn into him. Instead, he looked at the files that sat in front of him. _Project Sparrow_. His fingers itched to open and read on but he knew that he should wait for Elizabeth to start the meeting. The Commander looked at the time, she was about to be late to her own meeting, how unprofessional of her.

That didn't happen however. As soon as it was time for the meeting to start the CEO walked into the room. Her face in the same smile as usual. Ebony hair tied back into a low bun on her head. "Sorry I'm late. I was picking up someone." That's when everyone noticed the person behind her. Quickly, everyone in the room who was Garrison or Military stood up and gave a salute.

"General."

"Thank you, at ease." Her voice laced with a Japanese accent. She was easily the tallest in the room, her broad shoulders and thick muscle made her seem huge to the rest of them. Miles was not a small man, he was 6.1 and his body was in good shape but he felt small compared to Hoshi Shirogane. Maybe it was her size, or maybe it was the presence she hung over everyone. Just by looking at her, you could tell that she was someone to respect and not to mess with. She took off her military dress hat, a few strands of black hair falling from her neat bun. Her eyes were the colour of steel and just as cold as she scanned across the room. Shirogane lingered a little bit longer on Mrs. Holt than the rest but she quickly snapped her attention to Elizabeth. Giving the woman a short nod before taking her seat. She didn't look at Iverson. The Spaniard looked about the room, her smile widening as she noticed that everyone was here.

"Right then. Thank you everyone for coming. I know that you'll be dying to know what it was that I dragged your asses out here for." Her hands clapped and moved around as she spoke. "I'm very happy to personally welcome you all to _Project Swallow_. I'm sure you are all aware of Humanities ship fuel problem, as pilots, engineers and as businessmen." Nods of agreement came from her audience even though she didn't ask a question. "So, I believe that Stardust Industries can help fix that."

"How." Everyone's attention was turned the snidy man in the back, a sceptical grin grew across his maw. "You only told me on the comm. That you were building a ship. What kind of ship Ms. Paula. I don't see how this ship of yours could beat the Y-8 Dreadferry." Elizabeth's face grew tight, trying not to show her irritation at the businessman. She'd rip into him but his business was closely tied to hers, she need his support so she had to play nice.

"I was just getting into that Mr. Davis." Cale, her assistant, quickly brought up the screen behind her. A picture of _Aura_ showing up when he turned it on. "Thanks to Dr. Holt" she nodded to Colleen, "we now know of _Aura_. A renewable, green power source, amazing enough that only a tiny part of what we have could fuel and power New Glasgow for a lifetime. If that's the case, then that's more than enough to power a trip from Earth to Venus and back. Think about the doors that this opens up to us." The meeting went on for a few hours. Two hours had passed and Miles just wanted to see the ship at this point. It was informative but tiresome. He could see everyone's interest when Elizabeth finished. "Now. Wouldn't you all like to see the ship."

 

—

 

Colleen walked behind Beth as she continued to speak, more about the actual ship now rather than the meeting, "...that's when we decided to keep the old model for it and just merge it with the newest one. The ship was designed by..." They were now in the Hanger that she was in last week when she arrived in NG. Excitement curled in her gut as she got closer. Even though she'd looked over the plans over and over, seeing the _Solar-Sparrow 01_ in person was a little bit different.

"Dr. Paula. May I ask what the ship is for?" The curious voice of Shirogane spoke over the rest.

"Of course General. The ship is for easier space travel, built to support long term deep space journeys. Why just limit ourselves to Venus or anywhere else in our solar system? Why not venture beyond!" Everybody's attention was focused on Beth, they didn't notice the sorrowful hope that glistened in Colleens eyes or the tension that grew in Hoshi's shoulders.

"Is _Aura_ all it runs on?"

"No, it also runs on solar power-"

"That doesn't sound rather efficient." The same businessman from before scoffed. "Earlier you were praising your ship to Heaven and onward about its efficiency and how it's better than any other current ship. Yet you've gave it the same fuel weakness." Beth was glad that she was at the front so that he couldn't see her face twitching into a snarl.

"Well. Mr. Davis. If you hadn't cut me off I would have explained." Her voice was stiff and controlled. "The solar panels on the ship power the lights, heating etc. All of the leisure's whereas _Aura_ alone will power the engines, computers and comm's. _Aura_ is far more reliable for powering the ships essentials. The two systems take the pressure off of each other so they'll run smoothly and with less chance of hiccups." As they continued walking, they were amazed with how big the Hanger was.

Miles had been listening in but slowly his attention started to slip and he didn't notice that he was now beside Shirogane. The General, on the other hand, had noticed and was looking at him out of the corner of her eye. She was silent, ignoring him until she decided to speak. "Commander. How are the Cadets doing?" She heard him sputter a bit in surprise before composing himself. It took a moment for him to say something back as he was shocked that she said anything to him in general.

"They're doing alright. The Exam results are in."

"By the tone of your voice I'm taking that as bad." Miles sighed.

"They've been better. Not as bad as last years but they need to be better." That got Hoshi's attention. Steel eyes turned to him.

" _Need_ to be better? Care to explain?" Hesitance was clear in his frame. He didn't know if he'd get in trouble talking about it outside Garrison Personnel. He decided fuck it.

"NASA is at our ass. The past few years have been the worst results in Garrison history. They're not happy. As much as I'd like to say that the Galaxy Garrison is its own independent thing it's not. It was created by NASA and they're not happy about the Garrison's results."

"I know all about the Garrison and their results. _Commander_." His throat tightened at the tone of her voice. He didn't need to look up as he could feel the dark look in her eyes.

"And here we are!" Beth's voice tore Miles and Hoshi's attention from each other. The CEO stopped and turned with a smile on her lips as she waited for them to feast their eyes on her creation. Multiple eyes widened in awe. Before them was the ship. It had four main engines with joints that’s allowed them to point in any direction which also acted as the landing gear that the ship rested on, giving it a very different look and feel from other ships. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the _Solar-Sparrow 01_." The paint shined. "She's 130 meters long, 49 meters wide and 37 meters tall. Four _Aura_ powered engines with four solar sails on the top and side which aren't activated right now. She has various communication antennas as well as an independent advanced navigation system." The Spaniard released fact after fact as she walked them round the ship.

"It's not as big as I'd thought it be Dr. Paula. It's not even half the size of a commercial ship."

"That's because this ship is built for private use. Trust me sir. The commercial ship will be much bigger." The grin on her lips grew.

 

—

 

Lights flickered on as she opened the door to one of the many cabins. Colleen waltzed in, the door didn't even hiss as it closed behind her. They had been given free range on the ship to explore before they were to meet back up and give their opinion. The cabin was quite large for a small ship. It was split into three rooms. The living room, the bathroom and of course the bedroom. The walls were a soft cream colour with the floors being a silvery-white, as she walked around she realised that it was the only colour scheme the cabin had.

Barren was a word to describe it. Void of personality but that was understandable since the ship was literally brand new. Looking around one final time she left with the lights turning off as the door silently closed.

 

—

 

"Ugh, that's better." Beth moaned as she took of her heels and sank into her office chair. Colleen did just the same, a grimace on her face as she massaged the ball of her foot.

"With technology as it is and being able to travel through space, you'd think we'd make comfier heels." The younger woman laughed drily at her.

"Comfy heels. Whoever invents them will be a step closer to being God." They laughed for a few moments before falling into a comfortable silence as they relaxed into their chairs. "Glad that’s over. So what'd you think?"

"It looks better in real life than in the plans I'll admit that." Colleen hummed. "Don't know how that works but I'll take it." A second passed. "What did the pilots think? They happy with it?" She stayed a bit away as the ship landed from its test flight, not getting down to hear what they had to say.

"They gave it the all clear. Said it ran smoothly, better than any other ship they've ever been in. Who would I be to deny praise like that. The 'morra morning I'll get the signatures from Davis, Maxwell and Flores, then I'll be able to give the go ahead for production. By the end of the year we'll have a fleet worthy of the stars."

"A fleet?" Colleen sat up a little straighter, she didn't know about a fleet.

"Yeah, it's part of the contract I got with the military. They were pleased with the Sparrow and are going to fund all militarised _Aura_ ships I make and NASA will fund the research and exploration _Aura_ ships. A good deal if I say so. Though I guess the military could try and take the NASA ships as theirs cause they'll be weaponized as well." Beth rubbed her chin not noticing the confusion on Colleens face.

"Weaponized? Why would research ships be weaponized?" She was given a look.

"The Lion incident made the Universe a bigger place and the _Sparrow_ just made the Universe a lot closer. Who knows what we could find out there. Who knows what could find us... NASA wants crews to be bigger and ready, they don't want a repeat of the Kerberos mission" She quickly shut her mouth. As soon as she said 'Kerberos' she noticed the tension in Colleens body and how her jaw tightened, or maybe Colleen was already tense from when she spoke about the Blue Lion. The silence that settled wasn't so comfortable, it was stuffy and demanded attention, it demanded to be broken. With a heavy sigh, Beth broke it. "Colleen..., I know you probably get this a lot but... I'm sorry." Beth's heart broke at how Colleens eyes grew wet.

"It, it doesn't get easier." She sobbed quietly. "At least after Kerberos I had Katie but now... I've lost all of them." Colleen quickly rubbed the tears from her eyes. "Katie knew. I thought she was just taking it hard and grieving but no, she knew... She saw through their lies and knew, then she left. She left and pretended to be a boy." Anger started to take over her voice. "She didn't even tell me. The Lion was different from Kerberos." They looked directly into each other's eyes. "I saw the videos. I looked at the sensors over and over. I read the reports. Katie didn't disappear. She wasn't stolen by an alien ship." The anger was still there but it was subdued, what Colleen mostly felt now was a hollow sadness. "She _left_. She and the others left _willingly_. Can't say the same for Takashi, he was supposedly unconscious but Katie. She left me alone here willingly." Colleen broke down into sobs. "She left me."

Beth had had enough and got up. Quickly making her way to Colleen before wrapping her in her arms. Colleen didn't stop her and continued to cry into Elizabeth's neck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please remember to comment and share your thoughts on this with me, I'd really like to hear your thoughts on what you liked and didn't like. If you have any questions then please ask away.

**Author's Note:**

> Please remember to comment and share your thoughts on this with me. I'd love to know how you feel about this. If you have any questions then please ask away.


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